Spring Greens Spaghetti

Once I’ve finished this month of budget eating I think I might write a book called 101 ways to cook a cabbage, because it does feel like we’re eating it about 3 x a week. No offence to the humble cabbage intended. It is actually a delicious vegetable when prepared with loving care.

This recipe discovery has renewed my passion for the younger variety of cabbage just coming into Season now. The Spring Green is a tender fellow that doesn’t need much cooking at all, and as a result this meal can be cooked in as long as it takes to boil some spaghetti.

Spring greens provide you with a serious hit of vitamin C to support your immune system, and vitamin K, to build bone strength. They also contain natural compounds, such as sulforaphane and indoles, and research suggests that these plant chemicals have significant anti-cancer action, as well as anti-inflammatory properties, which could help protect against heart disease and stroke.

Anchovies contain omega 3 fatty acids as well as plenty of calcium from the bones when you eat them whole. I’m always trying to find sneaky ways to get fish into our diet, but fish can be an expensive commodity, that’s why the tinned variety can sometimes be useful.

This recipe disguises the fishiness of anchovies making them more like a salty seasoning that complements the Spring Greens beautifully.

Here’s the recipe –

Boil some 300g of spaghetti until it is al dente. In the last minute before the spaghetti is ready, throw in a generous bunch of finely sliced Spring Greens. Meanwhile, as the spaghetti is cooking, mix a 50g tinned anchovies in olive oil, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, the juice of half a lemon and 1 chopped dried red chilli. Cook in a pan until the anchovies disintegrate. Add more olive oil until the mixture is runny enough to mix with the spaghetti/cabbage. Once the spaghetti and cabbage is cooked drain immediately. Stir in the anchovy sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning and lemon juice as required. Serve with black pepper and a sprinkling of strong cheese. Simple yet delicious.